Snubbed bolster truck



A. F. BAKER SNUBBED BOLSTEZR TRUCK Sept. 27, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 30, 1959 INVENTOR. Men L9? fiafi/e/ r 0 zizznew W m M Sept. 27, 1960 A. F. BAKER 2,953,995

SNUBBED BOLSTER TRUCK Filed Sept. 30, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Sept. 27, 1960 A. F. BAKER 2,953,995

SNUBBED BOLSTER TRUCK Filed Sept. 30, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR.

'SNUBBED 'BOLSTER TRUCK Arthur F. Baker, Granite City, 11]., 'assignor to American Steel Foundries, Chicago, III., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Sept. 30, 1959, Ser. No. 843,510

Claims. (Cl. 105- 197) This invention relates to railway car trucks wherein a bolster is resiliently carried by the side frames and is engaged by friction devices for controlling the oscillating movement of the bolster.

The type of snubbed truck to which the present invention chiefly pertains comprises, generally, spaced side frame members each having an opening arranged to resiliently support opposite ends of a bolste'r. -A "spring biased friction shoe is engageable with friction surfaces on the side frame and bolster for controlling the oscillating movement of the latter. In some instances and under certain operating conditions the friction shoes tend to wear unevenly thereby contributing to uneven bolster wear and consequently to shortened service life for both the bolster and the friction shoes.

It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide, in a snubbed truck, a friction shoe having improved service life and improved snubbing action as compared to prior art friction shoes. It is also an object of the invention to provide such a friction shoe which will contribute to improved service life by virtue of a uniform wear pattern on the friction surfaces of the shoes and the bolster.

According to the present invention improved snubbing action is attained by the provision of increased shoe control whereby rocking motion of the shoe is substantially eliminated during oscillating movement of the bolster. In order to accommodate this function a friction shoe has been provided having elongated ledges or wings projecting outwardly beyond the main body of the shoe. The wings are preferably arranged to ride in complementary slots which restrain the action of the shoe and effectively prevent rocking and oscillation thereof.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a fragmentary top plan view, partially in section, of a railway car truck embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the embodiment of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on line 3--3 of Figure 2 and illustrating the preferred friction shoe and bolster contour;

Figures 4, 5 and 6 illustrate a friction shoe in detail, Figure 4 being a rear elevational view from the bolster engaging face thereof, Figure 5 being a side elevational View, and Figure 6 being a bottom plan view;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary view similar to Figure 3 but showing an alternate embodiment of the friction shoe and bolster contours;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary side elevational view, partially in section, illustrating still another embodiment of the invention;

Figure 9 is a rear elevational view of the friction shoe embodiment shown in Figure 8 taken from the bolster engaging face thereof, and

Figure 10 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 10-40 of Figure 1.

States Patent Qfiice Patented Sept. 27, 1960 Referring now to the drawings and particularly to Figures 1 and 2, it is seen that a side frame, indicated generally at 10, comprises a pair of column members 12 (only one of which is shown) partially defining a bolster opening 14 in which there is spring supported in a conventional manner a bolster member 16. The bolster member 16 is provided with a pocket 18 adjacent each column member 12 arranged to receive a friction shoe indicated generally at 20. Each friction shoe 20 comprises a body portion 21 having a front or main friction wall 22 frictionally engaged with the friction surface 24 of a liner 26 which may be mounted on or integral with column 12 of the side frame.

Extending angularly relative to the friction wall 22, and connected thereto by upper and lower walls 22a and 22b (Figure 5), and also by side walls 22c (Figure 4), are a plurality of spaced friction surfaces 30' (as best seen in Figures 4 and 5) arranged for complementary wedge engagement with corresponding friction surfaces 32 of the bolster (as best seen in Figure 2). The friction surfaces 30 are formed on walls which project laterally outwardly beyond the body portion 21 of the shoe in the form of flanges or wings indicated at 28 in Figures 4 and 6. Each wing is received in a bolster recess or slot 40 which is formed between the friction surface 32 of the bolster and an integral flange 41 spaced therefrom (as best seen in Figures 1, 3 and 10).

The construction defined above has several advantages over prior art arrangements, the most important of which is that the flange receiving recess restrains extraneous motion of the shoe and prevents rocking thereof during bolster oscillation. Another advantage is greatly increased bearing area which, together with the shoe control, reduces the unit frictional load and provides a more uniform wear pattern thereby effectively increasing the life of both the friction shoe and the bolster. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, in order to aid in controlling extraneous motion of the friction shoe, a supplemental guide means in the form of a flange 42 (Figures 3 and 10) may be provided on the bolster to accommodate greater friction shoe stability. Referring to Figure 10, wherein the preferred bolster structure is shown, it is seen that the flanges 41 and 42 are connected and substantially continuous except for a cored opening 43 which is included, in accordance with good molding practice, to eliminate hot spots in the casting.

Alternately, the supplemental guide means for greater friction shoe stability may be provided on the shoe itself as at 44 in Figure 7 rather than on the bolster. This double winged arrangement is preferred when existing bolsters are being converted to receive winged type friction shoes.

Still another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figures 8 and 9 which illustrate an arrangement having a shoe with the Wings 28 interconnected at their lower ends by a flange 46 thereby creating a U-shaped wedge friction surface (as best seen in Figure 9). The friction shoe construction of Figures 8 and 9 requires for accommodation thereof a slot 48 in the bolster. However, this embodiment provides a greatly increased friction area and a shoe which, by virtue of the additional length along the wedge surface, has greater stability than not only prior art shoes but also the shoes of the other embodiments described herein.

The invention is shown as it may be utilized in a snubbed truck arrangement wherein a substantially constant frictional force is maintained against the side frame columns during bolster oscillation. However, it will be obvious to those familiar with this art that the novel friction shoe and bolster construction could be utilized just as well with other types of snubbed truck arrangements.

It should be noted also that the novel construction of the invention lends itself to utilization by modification of existing equipment. For example, prior art shoes may be converted to wing type shoes by welding ledges or wings to the body portion of the shoes and prior art bolsters may be modified to accommodate winged shoes by cutting recesses or slots in the bolster walls adjacent the wedge surfaces to provide thereby receiving means for the friction shoe wings.

It should be noted further that the friction shoe receiving pocket need not of necessity be provided in the bolster as described heretofore but may, for example, be formed in the side frame. In this latter type of construction the friction shoe would engage a relatively movable surface of the bolster and would be in wedge engagement with wedge surfaces in the side frame member.

I claim:

1. In a friction unit for a railway car truck, the combination of: a truck member having a pocket therein, at least one friction wedge surface on said member internally of said pocket; a friction shoe in said pocket, friction means on said shoe in complementary wedge engagement with said wedge surface; and means to stabilize movement of said shoe, said means comprising an elongated recess in said shoe extending generally parallel to said friction means, and a flange integral with said member and receivable in said shoe recess.

2. In a friction unit for a railway car truck, the combination of: a truck member having a pocket therein, wedge means on said member within said pocket, a flange on said member spaced from said wedge means and extending substantially parallel thereto; a friction shoe having a wall in complementary wedge engagement with said wedge means, a portion of said wall being received between said wedge means and said flange.

3. In a fricion unit for a railway car truck, the combination of: a truck member having a pocket therein, wedge means on said member within said pocket, spaced flanges on said member adjacent opposite ends of the said wedge means and extending substantially parallel thereto; a friction shoe received in said pocket, said shoe having a wall in complementary wedge engagement with said wedge means, said wall having spaced coplanar wings received between said wedge means and a respective flange.

4. In a railway car truck: a side frame having a column member partly defining a bolster opening; a bolster member resiliently supported in said opening; a friction surface on said column member; a wedge surface on said bolster member sloping toward said friction surface; a friction shoe resiliently urged into complementary wedge engagement with said wedge surface and into frictional engagement with said friction surface; and means for restraining rocking motion of said shoe during bolster oscillation; said means comprising an elongated recess in said shoe extending substantially parallel to said wedge surface, and a flange on said bolster complementally received in said recess.

5. In a railway car truck, the combination of: a side frame comprising a column member; a relatively moveable member supported adjacent thereto; spaced sloping friction surfaces on one of said members; a friction surface on the other of said members; a friction shoe, said shoe comprising a wall engageable with said friction surface, spaced walls in wedge engagement with said sloping surfaces, said walls having portions thereof projecting laterally outward from said shoe; and complemental recesses in said one member arranged to receive said projecting portions for controlling shoe movement during relative movement of said members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

